Category Archives: Friday Five

There are few times I’m happier to write than after the week I am just about to finish.

This is one of my busiest weeks of the year at work, kicking off a stretch of mild insanity at my job that doesn’t slow down until October.

Being able to come home and write feels good.

In the midst of a week like this where my office becomes a little more like a cave, I am reminded of the importance of how we spend our time, and what it says about us.

More and more, I realize the importance in my own life of taking time for cooking. Of making time for cooking. Here are some reminders about how, despite our crazy schedules, we can make time for cooking:

1. Cook once, make sure it feeds you twice (or more!). You don’t have to commit to cooking every day, but one night in the kitchen can cover you for a couple of days, or at least dinner and lunch the next day. Bonus: you’ve stretched your hard-earned money pretty far too.

2. Cooking does not = gourmet. I love me some Cooking Channel, but I can’t make anything look (and let’s be honest, taste) like they do. If I had that ability, I probably wouldn’t be a full-time project manager. Seriously, cooking is not a Pinterest contest. Say that to yourself in the mirror if you have to. Throw those rice and beans in a tortilla, add some salsa and call it a (delicious) night.

3. Use the freezer like a champ. Not just for frozen, prepackaged meals (in fact, don’t use it for that). Make a big batch of something, and freeze half of it. On the night where there’s no way in the world you’re going to cook, pull something out of the freezer and heat it up.

4. Plan ahead. Pick a couple of recipes, know what you’re low on and stick to that at the grocery store. You’ll save money if you go in with a plan. At the same time…

5. Improvise. Go with what you have. You probably can make a pretty delicious meal with what’s in your fridge and your pantry, no store visit necessary. There’s no law that forces you to have every single ingredient to follow a recipe and make it pretty close. Tim Gunn what’s in your kitchen and Make. It. Work. You’ll live to tell it if you have basil in there when the recipe calls for parsley.

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